Proteas survive Dutch scare to break World Cup hoodoo

David Miller bailed South Africa out of deep trouble against the Netherlands with a clutch innings to win their T20 World Cup clash by four wickets on Saturday.

Miller's unbeaten 59 off 51 balls, with four sixes and three boundaries, rescued South Africa from 4-12 in the fifth over.

This was after the Netherlands were restricted to 9-103.

The Proteas were made to sweat hard before Miller and Tristan Stubbs, with 33 off 37, saved the day for them to reach 6-106 with seven balls remaining.

The Netherlands were going for a hat-trick of wins against South Africa in World Cups, after winning their T20 clash in 2022 and one-day international fixture last year.

Chasing a paltry 104 for victory, South Africa's big T20 hitters failed.

Quinton de Kock was run out for a duck without facing a ball after a mix-up with opening partner Reeza Hendricks, who was bowled for three in the second over.

Aiden Markram was caught behind playing down the leg side for a three-ball duck, with the umpire's review going against him.

Hard-hitting Heinrich Klaasen then holed out for four as Dutch medium-pacer Vivian Kingma finished his four overs with 2-12.

Miller and Stubbs responded with a cautious 65-run partnership off 72 balls on a challenging pitch.

Stubbs was caught in the 17th over as South Africa edged closer to the finish. Marco Jansen was dismissed for a golden duck in the next over and the situation tensed up again.

But Miller held his nerve with three sixes in quick succession to see the Proteas home to their second win in two games in Group D with seven balls to spare.

Earlier, pacer Ottneil Baartman grabbed 4-11 in four overs as the Netherlands fell to 6-48 in 11.5 overs.

After his first three overs went for only 10 runs, the international newcomer finished with a three-wicket over, which included Sybrand Engelbrecht for a patient 40. 

Engelbrecht's 45-ball knock was the anchor for the Dutch, while Logan Van Beek scored 23 at the death to push the total past 100.

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